1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera having a novel exposure frame, particularly in a photographic camera having a lens barrel and a camera body molded integrally with each other, and further to such structure of the exposure frame which is suitable for a photographic camera adapted for panoramic photography by partially covering upper and lower edges of the exposure frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
To ensure that anyone can easily enjoy photography without the need for skill, photographic cameras can be provided with so-called focus switch-over devices by which the focal length of the objective can be switched between a long focal length (TELE) and a short focal length (WIDE), or a so-called variable focus device such as a zoom device allowing the focal distance to be continuously varied, have recently come into widespread use. These photographic cameras additionally include those provided with so-called auto-focusing devices allowing an object to be automatically brought into focus as the camera is directed toward the object.
Said variable focus devices require a power source for moving the objective along the optical axis and the mechanism transmitting a driving force from said power source to the lens barrel. Said auto-focusing devices require the power source and the other mechanism to drive the focusing lens for focusing. These driving sources and transmission mechanisms are usually arranged beside the lens barrel. To facilitate the operation of assembling these parts and the lens barrel into the camera body, it has been the practice to mold the camera body separately from the lens barrel and then to assemble the lens barrel thus incorporated with the predetermined parts, into the camera body.
To popularize cameras incorporating the various devices mentioned above, it is most important to provide such cameras at costs as low as possible. Accordingly, reduction of cost for parts as well as for manufacturing and, to meet such demand, the camera having the lens barrel and the camera body integrally molded from synthetic resin or the like, have already been developed. In addition, the camera must be miniaturized in order to make it portable and this requirement has been fulfilled by reducing the outer diameter of the lens barrel. The lens barrel is formed in its inner peripheral surface with a helicoid serving as the driving mechanism for the variable focus device. Reduction in the outer diameter of the lens barrel necessarily results in reduction of its inner diameter as well as the diameter of the helicoid.
The camera body has an exposure frame which is usually formed at the rear end of the lens barrel. Accordingly, if the inner diameter of the lens barrel is smaller than the inner dimension of the exposure frame, the individual frame of film might be subjected to a so-called vignetting effect during exposure. On the other hand, structural restrictions of the mold used to form the lens barrel integrally with the camera body make it difficult to form a mask adapted to define the frame. Therefore, attempts at integral molding of the lens barrel and the camera body have necessarily resulted in a structurally complicated exposure frame which has been disadvantageous for reduction of cost.